Ninjago: Legends of Spinjitzu- Across Dimensions
by Pokelegend
Summary: A teenager is sucked into a strange LEGO world without his memory of his past life, and must find his place in the destiny of Ninjago.
1. Chapter 1: Garth

**Welcome to my second Fanfic! In this story I hope to bring you epicness and ninjaness. This story is mostly built around LEGO Ninjago. I know Ninjago is pretty much gone at this point, but the story is still good and I hope to be able to improve it some. This chapter is insanely short, but rest assured all of the subsequent chapters will be much longer.**

_A senior. _I was going to be a senior in high school next year. _A senior. _The thought rolled around in my brain as I walked home from school.

My name is Garth. I live in the United States of America, in the Western Hemisphere, on the planet Earth, in the Sol solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, in the Known Universe.

Today is the last day of school, or rather, WAS the last day of school. I had just finished my junior year. Now it was summer break, three whole months of _freedom._

The last day of school is basically a day off that you're still required to spend at school. If you have too many absences, you can get in trouble for truancy if you miss it, which is pretty much the reason I came. Besides the fact that, I don't like to miss school if I can help it.

But now all that was over, and I was walking home. Home was only a couple blocks away, after all. No need to ride a bus or drive home or anything. I have my driver's license, but there was really no need to drive when you live so close to the school.

My beginning-of-the-summer thoughts were still rolling around in my head as the portal opened under my feet and sucked me in.

**So that's it until next chapter! There will be much more to come, mark my words. And don't worry, all following chapters will be a decent length. If you don't believe me, check out my Pokemon story and see how long the chapters there are.**

**By the way, official Ninjago is Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. My version is Legends of Spinjitzu. I am not claiming rights, but I am instead trying to show that this is non-canon and is therefore not by LEGO. It provides a better distinction.**

**But still, DISCLAIMER:**

**I own noting but the character Garth. I am not selling anything. All rights to Ninjago belong to LEGO, and this story is not directly affiliated with LEGO.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Fire Inside

**Welcome back! Here is Chapter 2, and I hope you enjoy it. Actually, this is more like Chapter 1, because last chapter is a bit of a prologue.**

**Starting this chapter, the point of view will shift around a lot. To indicate this, I will have the character's name before the paragraph in their POV, like this: *Garth***

**This chapter is mostly the beginning of the first episode of the first section of Ninjago, originally titled, "Way of the Ninja." Hope you enjoy!**

*Mysterious old man*

The sun was setting on a peaceful little village, as workers toiled in rice paddies under an orange, cloudy sky and some picturesque power lines.

The world of Ninjago has always been an interesting place. Advanced technology works in perfect harmony with ancient ways of life. Due to centuries of near peace, weapons have not developed much farther than blades and short-range projectiles, or in another way of saying it, ninja weapons. Ninjago was not about to become less interesting, however. Many big events loomed ahead, and I was one of the few who was prepared for them.

The villagers didn't notice me as I came down the path.

Almost prepared, that is. There were some final things that needed to be set in place, and that was my errand here.

*Kai*

I pounded on my creation carefully, molding its molten surface into the right shape. Happy with how it looked, I shoved it into the oven and heated it some more, then pounded it yet again to hone its shape. Satisfied, I plunged the hot metal into a barrel of water, then drew it back out when it stopped steaming.

"It's finished!" I pronounced triumphantly, holding my masterwork aloft.

"What's it supposed to be?" my sister, Nya, asked. By the tone of her voice, I could tell she already knew the answer.

"A sword," I said defensively, and then I realized I had cooled it too quickly and flattened the blade too much, and the metal had curled into a useless, sharp swirl.

"Awww, _man!_" I growled, chucking it into the ever-growing scrap pile.

"You're working too fast, Kai. Father always said forging a good weapon takes time and patience." I had to admit, Nya had a point. I wasn't going to let that burn me, though.

"Hey, I spent three whole hours on that sword!"

"Apparently it wasn't enough," she replied, shrugging.

It was right at that point an old man walked into the front door. He had a long, white, flowing beard and a matching mustache. He had a circular sun hat and a bamboo staff.

I barely noticed him until he spoke.

"Hmm... your metal is loud and heavy. Useful to slow one down. Useless to the art of stealth." He paused just slightly to look at some armor Nya had put together. He lightly knocked on a helmet with his staff.

"All tools for a samurai," he continued, "But nothing for a ninja?"

I had little patience for old people. They are slow and feeble, and aren't very useful. They like to come into the blacksmith shop and look around, but not buy anything, while totally distracting me from my work. And I also was not in a very good mood after the failed attempt at a sword.

Even so, I tried to be friendly at first. For business's sake.

"Heh. You won't find any ninja around these parts, old man. And the shop is called 'Four Weapons,' not 'For Browsing.' Either buy something, or go peddle your insults somewhere else!"

The old man didn't look phased at all. In fact, his friendly air didn't even waver.

"Hah! Too bad. Thought I'd find something special here." He turned to leave.

I decided to change tactics. Maybe the old guy would buy something after all. I rummaged through some crates.

"Well, if you're looking for something special, we have-" I turned to face him again, but he was gone.

*Skeleton general Kruncha*

The skies blackened overhead, bringing untimely night with it. Just how I like it. We came over the hill on our massive Skull Truck. We being me, Nuckal, and King Samukai. Being a general has its perks, and one of which is the privilege of being crew on the Skull Truck when we went out on missions. It so happened that Samukai, King of the Underworld, was leading this one himself.

We stopped at the apex, and looked down at the villagers working in their weird pools of water. They were just now realizing that they were about to be invaded.

Nuckal was going crazy. "Oh please, please, let me go first! I'm dying to go down there!" he warbled.

I had enough of his yelling. "You nitwit! You're already dead. And try to control yourself in front of Master Samukai!" I barked. Turning to my king, who was less than amused with Nuckal's ranting, and asked, "Hrr-rrm, last time, didn't you say I could lead the next mission?"

Samukai's dark voice poured out of his empty jaws. "Sorry, boys, but this one is mine. Just remember what we're after, and _find. That. Map. _ATTACK!"

The bony vehicles, our truck included, started to cascade down the hill. Villagers screamed and scrambled for weapons. Some, finding theirs quickly, bravely stood their ground.

Samukai chuckled to himself for a split second, then pulled out his four daggers and hissed, "_BOO!_"

The villagers decided to get out of his way. Which was smart for them. Samukai was a deadly fighter, what with his four arms and multi-weapons skills.

We roared toward our destination, nearly unimpeded by the scattered locals.

*Kai*

Nya noticed the sky turning an unnatural shade of purple first. That's when the _things_ appeared.

"What are they?" Nya whispered, not really sounding scared, but more like in awe.

"I don't know. Stay here." I slipped on some armor and a helmet, then grabbed a serrated sword(thanks, Nya) and ran outside.

The things turned out to be walking skeletons. They leaped off of their skull motorbikes, bearing weapons. The first couple were easy to fight. They fought using vertical swings, which were easy to block, and while their weapon was occupied, I could punch them with my free hand.

It didn't take long at all for me to get surrounded, and despite my surprisingly effective slashes, blocks, punches and kicks, I was too outnumbered to do any more than stand my ground and defend the shop.

I knocked the head off of one of them with my sword, then turned to fight some other ones. A second later, I felt a terrible pain in my foot. Looking down, I saw the head I had swiped off had bitten me. I kicked it, and it went sailing over the shop.

The other skeleton warriors apparently weren't very bright, because they clapped as the skull flew out of sight. I took advantage of the brief lull in the battle by smashing a couple of foes.

Nya snuck in and smacked some skeletons with a staff.

"I thought I told you to stay back!" I yelled, as we were forced back-to back by our enemies.

"And let you have all the fun?" she asked. While I was concerned about her safety, it was nice to know my back was covered.

*Kruncha*

Nuckal and I snuck past the owners of the shop as they brawled with the lower-ranking soldiers. Once inside the building, Nuckal started rummaging around and pulled out a helmet. He slipped it on and looked at his reflection in a gong.

"You're not looking hard enough!" I growled, chucking a second helmet into the back of his head. The one he was wearing clattered to the floor.

"Oowwwww!" he whined, "_You're _not lookin' hard enough!" He threw another helmet at me, and it hit me in the face and spun my head around.

"Why you-" We forgot the mission as we engaged in a furious slap-fight. I had enough of it, so I hauled back and punched him to knock some sense into him.

He flew into the wall, coming up dazed but not any more sensible. A bunch of stuff was knocked over when he flew against the wall.

"You idiot! They're gonna hear-" I cut short as the sign hanging over the shop fell down, knocked loose by Nuckal's fall.

"The map!" we cried in unison.

*Garth*

White. That's all I saw. Just white.

It was an improvement from unconsciousness, but not much. I couldn't feel anything at first, but then sensations started to well up in my head. Feeling began to trickle down my body, seeping into my arms, torso, and finally legs. My hands felt clammy as soon as I could feel them, and my toes were last. I tried to move my arm, but my body seemed to be turned to stone. It also felt _wrong. _Fanciful colors started drift around in my vision, and faint, muffled sounds started to manifest to me.

I somehow managed to sit up, the pressure leaving the back of my head. The kaleidoscope of color swirled slower and slower until it settled into a picture that almost made sense.

Everything was in a haze, and I couldn't see very far, but what I could see weirded me out. It wasn't the red-orange rocks or the seeming drop-off into space, it was the fact that my feet and legs looked boxish and square. My hands were strange, with seemingly no fingers and thumbs that were the same width as the other half of the hand.

It was so strange- but I couldn't remember why. I tried to remember who I was- I am Garth. I am... (I drew up a hazy blank) ...years old? I couldn't remember. I live... where? I am Garth. My name is Garth. I still remembered that. I looked at my hands, the ones that didn't look or feel right, the ones I knew there was a reason they felt and looked wrong, but I couldn't remember why.

I fainted again.

*Kai*

I was doing pretty good. The skeletons had begun to retreat. Except that they didn't hop on their bikes and roll away, they just sort of stood way back, weapons ready.

A large skeleton landed in front of me, probably from the huge truck.

I raised my sword and growled threateningly. He was one skeleton- how bad could he be?

He chuckled, then pulled out four serrated bone daggers. It was then I noticed the second set of arms. Apparently he could be pretty darn bad.

I backed up. "Oops," I muttered to myself.

He charged me, but I held my ground. I deflected two dagger-thrusts, thankful for my armor when one slipped past my sword. He swung furiously, starting to target the weaker points in my armor.

He charged with all four daggers aimed at my face, and I raised my sword to block it. Bad move. He tweezed my sword with his wicked, curved knives, and yanked it out of my grip. It went up in the air and landed on its side two or three feet behind me.

The big skeleton kicked me onto my back, ready to give me a humiliating finish. I scooted toward my sword, determined to, at the very least, die fighting.

Just then a voice rang out, "Ninjaaaa- GO!" and a golden vortex whipped up out of nowhere and slammed into my assailant. The skeleton struck back, lashing with his knives into the tornado, but his blows seemed to be blocked by an invisible force, and he was jostled by what seemed to be punches and kicks.

It whirled to a stop after knocking the attacker back, revealing the old man who had come into the shop earlier. There was a pause as both the four-armed menace and the bearded, aged man stared each other down in battle stance.

The skeleton spoke in a gravelly, yet dark and penetrating voice: "Sensei Wu, your Spinjitzu looks rusty!"

"Nothing like bone to sharpen its edge, Samukai." He shifted his stance, making Samukai stop his sneaking motion. As they talked, he had been searching for an opening.

Samukai's glowing red eyes roved, and then found a clever way out. He whirled his knives like he was ready for another round, then chucked them straight at the Sensei, who bent artfully to avoid them, and they sailed past.

My hand had just closed around my sword when I heard the awful crunch. I had scooted just far enough to reach the weapon, still held down by my heavy armor.

The crunch was the old water tower next to the shop. Samukai's knives had slashed deep into the wood of one of the legs, and the whole thing started to buckle. Samukai sealed the deal by holding out his boney hands, his daggers flying back to them as if they had a mind of their own. They pulled the wood out with them, making the tower crunch sideways and topple- right toward me.

My armor was way too heavy to get up quickly, and scooting wouldn't move me out of the way fast enough, either.

Sensei Wu yelled his strange battle cry once again and whipped up his tornado thing, swooping in and moving me out of the tower's path right as it plummeted to the ground.

Samukai had evidently accomplished some goal, because he hopped back in his truck and yelled, "Lord Garmadon says take the girl!"

"Garmadon," the Sensei breathed, the name seeming to confirm some fear.

A skeleton on the back of the truck chuckled and angled some weird device back. It fired and flew forward, narrowly missing Nya as she sprang out of the way.

She punched and kicked some skeletons away before being overwhelmed and shoved into the crude bone fist. A chain pulled the skeletal prison back onto the truck.

"Nya!" I screamed, grabbing my sword and climbing to my feet to run after her.

I was too late. The bony invaders all hopped into their vehicles and made off like the bandits they were.

"They took my sister!" I raged as the sky returned to a normal nighttime blue.

"I told you," Said the sensei, coming up behind me and softly knocking my helmet with his staff, "Useless."

That was it. This guy might have saved my life, but he didn't get on my nerves any less.

"Arrgh, you could have done something!" I yelled, rounding on him. "You could have used your 'twist-itsu' or your, your-"

He cut me off, giving me a stern look. "Spinjitzu." he corrected fiercely.

"You did _nothing,_" I hissed, "and I'm going to get my sister back!"

"Where they go, no mortal can follow. That was Samukai, King of the Underworld. And he is taking orders from Garmadon, which means things are worse then I feared."

"Garmadon? Underworld? What are you talking about? And why would they take my sister? What's so important here?!"

"What's so important?" he mirrored, "How about everything in Ninjago itself?"

"Long before Time had a name, the First Spinjitzu master created the world of Ninjago using the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu- the Sword of Fire, the Shurikens of Ice, the Nunchucks of Lightning, and the Scythe of Quakes- weapons so powerful that no being can posses all four at once.

"When he passed on, his two sons swore to protect these weapons. But the oldest was consumed by darkness and sought the weapons for his own, and a battle broke out between them. The youngest emerged victorious, but paid a heavy price- he had to banish his own brother to the Underworld. Knowing that even the Underworld could not hold his twisted brother forever, the younger brother hid the four weapons across Ninjago, and placed powerful guardians over them- dragons, as old as Ninjago itself. Only one map shows the locations of these weapons, and the younger brother entrusted that map to an honest man for safekeeping.

"That honest man was your father, Kai, the Dark Lord is Garmadon, and I need to recover those weapons before he does!"

I put the pieces together. "You're the younger brother? ...Then you came here looking for the map?"

He turned to look at me again. "No. I came here for something greater. _You._" He pointed his staff at me.

He continued, "Since my brother cannot enter this realm, he must have struck a deal with Samukai. If he obtains all four weapons, even I may not be able to defeat him again." He paused. Just when I was about to point out how that information was sort of irrelevant, he whirled and pointed his staff at me again.

"But _you,_ you have the fire inside. I will train you to harness it, until you become a Spinjitzu master."

It was my turn to speak up. "Look, I'm flattered you think I'm all that, but I have to go save my sister. I can't go and get involved in you _sibling rivalry._" I turned and started walking away.

Started, because he whirled around and brought me down with a roundhouse kick that seemed to only barely graze me. I landed on my back and he landed on top of me.

"Whoah-ho! You're not ready to face my pinkie toe," he said, lifting up one foot and flexing said toe, while pointing his staff, once again, at my face. "If you want to save your sister, you must learn to control the fire that burns inside. Only when you become a Spinjitzu Master, will you be ready to face Lord Garmadon." I couldn't argue with that.

*Garth*

I woke up again. This time there was no funny hazy sensations, and it was like waking up from a dream.

Except I was still in the dream. My hands were still... what was wrong with them? I couldn't remember. In fact, I was starting to feel like this was how hands are supposed to be, but there was still this little nagging feeling. I searched my memory. The only thing that came up was Garth, Garth, Garth, and the only information that came with it was that name belonged to me, and I belonged to that name. Then there came a strange feeling of not belonging, like I was out of place and came from somewhere else.

"I can talk, right?" I said quietly, to myself, and was relieved that I still had a vocabulary.

I wanted to stand up and walk, but my muscles were very sore for a reason I either forgot, or never knew in the first place. I settled for sitting up and examining my surroundings. There was a high wall off to my right, but I couldn't get a good view because I could only crane my neck so much.

I slumped back again. I began to hear sounds of someone scaling the cliff. The noises grew louder until an old man with a long beard and a younger guy wearing some kind of apron. The younger dude had longish, messy hair and the old guy toted a staff.

I was relieved to at least recognize those objects.

*Sensei Wu*

We finished climbing the cliff face. Kai climbed surprisingly well, while I jumped and crawled from rock to rock, "like a mountain goat," as I told my new student.

As I reached the summit, Kai asked, "How long is this training going to take?"

I stood on a rock, enjoying how far ahead of him I was. I picked up the right side of my mustache and ran my hand over it. "Patience."

A voice called out from behind me. "Hello? Can you tell me where I am?"

I turned. "And who might you be?" I asked the strange young man who was lying between some decent-sized boulders. He looked confused, then stuttered, "I- I... I don't know. All I really remember is my name is Garth."

"Hmmm... another missing identity. Oh dear." I muttered.

Kai finished hauling himself up over the edge, then looked over to his right. "There were _stairs?_"

"Exercise is one of the Great Keys to Success." I replied, enjoying the way he grumbled and rolled his eyes. Messing with my student's minds was one of my favorite pastimes.

"Well, you happen to be near my home. You may stay awhile until you get oriented."

The kid looked relieved. "Thank you. Where do you live?"

My eyebrow went up. "Right here." I gestured with my staff at the wall looming up next to us.

Kai came up, mumbling something about stairs. He probably thought I was too old and deaf to hear him, but I could make out what he was saying.

"Come. We must move on to the next lesson." We proceeded to the door of my dwelling, only to discover that Garth needed a little assistance standing and walking. His strength quickly returned, and he was almost independent by the time we reached the door.

I turned to Kai. "You will be ready... when you are ready; not a minute sooner." I walked into the courtyard enclosed by the walls.

"A monastery?!" Kai asked, "You expect me to fight in a place of peace?"

Garth said something about monks under his breath.

"Not fight," I replied, "Train. To become a ninja, you must first learn to see what others do not." I whirled my staff and leveled it under a dragon statue that sat on a pedestal. The pedestal projected from the floor of the courtyard.

"But there's nothing here!" Kai complained.

I shrugged, and the motion made the staff move just enough to knock the statue back. It fell back on a hinge, and its belly fell open on a second hinge, revealing a button. Kai looked mildly surprised as I pushed the button.

A second dragon statue that sat in the middle of the courtyard began to rise. Spinning columns with circular roofs and floors rose up as well, loaded with axes, maces, and training dummies. Pegs and smaller, singular columns folded out of the tile ground as well.

Garth, who had worked up some strength, commented, "Amazing. The design..." He stopped as if losing his train of thought.

Kai was suddenly ecstatic. "Is this gonna teach me that cool move?" he asked excitedly, leaping onto one of the lesser columns in a terrible "Crane" pose. He turned to look at me as the column sank.

He got a look similar to the one he had when I pushed the button.

"Oh, dear." I said softly, and then the column shot back up, sending him flying. He landed on the dragon that had risen from the middle of the courtyard, bounced off, and landed in a heap.

*Garth*

The old dude went on to the monastery porch and sat down. He pulled a cloth napkin out from behind him and laid it in his lap. The napkin was followed by a cup of tea, a teapot, and some sugar cubes, all produced from seemingly nowhere.

"Complete the training course before I finish my tea, and _then_ we will see if you are ready." He poured himself a cup and chugged it. The guy in the apron didn't get off his belly. He just lay there and watched.

The old guy set down the empty teacup, then did a fancy backflip and landed with a little bit of fancy staff-twirling.

"Today, you failed. Tomorrow, you will try again."

"Failed?" the student steamed, "But I didn't even start the-" His sentence was cut off by the monastery doors closing themselves. "Patience." came the reply from the aged mentor from the other side of the doors. The tea set remained outdoors.

"Wow. The older guy is pretty mysterious." I commented, walking across the courtyard. I only stumbled once.

"Who, Sensei? You could say that again. I mean, what is with that guy?"

"I dunno. I just met you two, and it seems we forgot introductions. I don't remember anything, so it would be nice to at least know some names."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I was busy dealing with the Sensei. I'm Kai. I'm only here with Sensei Wu. Something about the fire inside. I don't really care about all that craziness. I just want to save my sister." Toward the beginning of the sentence, there was a brief handshake. It was made awkward by the, well, hands. I just didn't understand what wasn't right with them.

"Sister? I think I need to be a bit caught up."

"It's a long story." Kai explained. "...Want to hear it?"

Kai recapped the events from yesterday as the sky started to darken into nighttime.

**So there you go. What is Garth's purpose? That's for me to know and you to eventually find out!**

**Next chapter will be shorter, but I feel like this was a good start.**

**So, please review. It would help next chapter come out sooner.**

**Adios until next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: Passing the Test

**Greetings, and welcome to chapter 3 of my story! Now, while this might be following the show, it is NOT necessarily exactly timed to the show. I reserve the right to set my own pace, and Part 1, Red Ninjago, whatever you want to call it, needs to be longer. You may find this chapter a little deeper and that it doesn't have as much action. Don't worry, the action is yet to come.**

*Garth*

Me and Kai talked for a while as the sun was apparently setting, as evidenced by a darkening sky. We couldn't see the sunset, but there were obvious, indirect indicators.

"I guess we should go to bed now," I decided, as night fell.

"Hey, what's that?" Kai asked, pointing past my shoulder.

"What?" I said, turning. There was a piece of paper pinned to the monastery wall by a small knife. I went over and pulled it out, reading the paper.

'Yes, Garth, going to bed at this time would be wise. -Sensei'

"That's weird. It's like he heard me say that!" I exclaimed.

"Weird. Let's go inside." I followed him up the porch steps and into the building. Inside was a hallway that stretched away in two directions. A door was at either end.

"Which way do we turn...? -Oh, look, another note!" Kai said. This one was taped to the wall.

'I would advise going right. After all, that's where the bedroom is.'

"Okay?" Kai asked, mildly surprised. He turned right and proceeded down the hall, with me right behind. Abruptly he tripped, revealing a rope that seemed to appear from nowhere. A third note was right in front of his face.

"Wha-? 'Never let your guard down. You must be prepared for anything!' ...?" Kai read, starting to sound both angry and exasperated. "Very funny, Sensei, but I'm just trying to get to bed!" he yelled as he climbed to his feet and hustled down the hall.

A second rope looped around his foot and hoisted him up to the ceiling, upside-down. Yet another note hung by a string, just at eye level. As I got close enough to see it clearly, I could tell it was blank. It slowly turned around, revealing one word, neatly written upside-down:

_'Patience.'_

"Who _IS _this guy?!" Kai screamed, all of his patience apparently spent.

"How strange," I said, noticing a _fifth_ note. "This one says, 'No, Kai, that is not showing patience.' I wonder if it says anything on the back? It's like he can tell what we're about to say!"

Sure enough, as I turned it over, I read:

'Yes, Garth, it IS like that, isn't it?"

"I think he's just trying to mess with our heads," grumbled Kai, as he undid his foot and fell to the floor. "Ouch!"

"I wonder what would happen if we did something unpredictable," I mused, then noticed one more message on the ceiling:

'I wouldn't advise that.'

Needless to say, we were very careful when getting the rest of the way to the door. No more traps were manifest, and no more notes appeared.

"There are a lot of bunks in here for just two guys," I commented as we got a glimpse of the room. There were four bunks, each with two levels- enough for eight people!

Fortunately, there were pajamas already set out, and the connected restroom had a set of toothbrushes for each of us, as well as a shower. We went to bed in good hygiene.

*Kai*

The skeletons were running, running away. I chased them, sword held high. I could see them carrying Nya over their heads, like some sort of animal sacrifice. She was screaming and kicking and carrying on, but it didn't really seem to be doing anything.

The ground between me and my query grew larger by the second as my armor and helmet weighed me down. I pushed harder to run faster, but they still kept lengthening their lead. It seemed like the more I willed my body to move, the less it would. The air seemed to thicken into gel, and the ground warped into a hill. The skeletons were running downhill, while I ran up the slope. As I pressed my body to function, the hill rolled on, making the slope stay to my total disadvantage. Finally I slipped, and fell to my back at an alarming rate, then slid back down the hill. I heard Nya scream my name one last time, hopelessly far away.

I bumped my helmeted head on a rock, and somehow I was suddenly in a small, boxy space, lying on a soft surface. I thrashed and got tangled in my blanket. That's when I came to my senses.

I was in pajamas, not battle armor. The room was bright, as light poured through the windows and made brilliant shadows come off of the bunks. Garth was sleeping soundly in his bunk.

_I have to go save Nya! _I thought. _I can't save her if I'm going to waste all my time here!_

A glance at the clock made me stop cold. 9:48.

_I slept in?! I should be training or escaping or something! I won't rescue my sister if I spend all of my time asleep!_

I got dressed and rushed out the door in a blur. Something swung down from the ceiling as I rushed out of the room and knocked me on the head.

"Ow!" I roared, looking up to investigate what hit me. There was Sensei, sitting on the ceiling meditation-style, holding his staff. Strangely, his beard did not seem subject to gravity.

"While you are here, you will respect the monastery, and keep your room perfectly clean. Your bed has not been made."

"How are you on the ceil- OW!" I questioned, earning another whack to the head.

"Less talking and more tidying! Get! Get!" he snapped, stabbing at me with his staff.

Ducking and grabbing my head, I ran back into the room and began work. After the bed was made, I remembered I had left my PJ's on the floor in my hurry, so I picked them up. Turning towards the door, I saw a note.

'Waken Garth and tell him to tidy as well.'

Grumbling, I shook his shoulders roughly. "Wake up sleepyhead! You had better not be having a good dream!" I said out loud.

He rolled over, keeping his eyes closed. "What is it?" he slurred.

"WAKE UP!" I hollered, completely fed up.

Garth abruptly sat up, making me jump back. "Wuh? Where am I? Who- ...oh." he stuttered, falling back and holding his head. "About time," I grumped.

"Sorry, crazy dream," he muttered. He rolled out of bed languidly and headed for the bathroom.

"Good," I said. "Mine wasn't pleasant either."

*Garth*

As I got changed, I reflected on the strange dream.

It didn't make much sense now, but it made me feel alone and abandoned. The image returned to me; I was in a large, confused room. It might have been a museum, except for the fact that it had a functional ferris wheel and a miniature skyscraper with actual miniature people inside. A blimp hovered around the ceiling of the room, flying upside-down. Also upside-down was a catwalk, with more masked people walking around on it as if their way was the right way up. A gorilla, with a mask of its own, hung from the rail, confusingly adhering to regular gravity.

All the people in the room were wearing white, featureless masks with no eye holes. Even the large dinosaur fossil wore one. Everyone ignored me, as if I was invisible. I tried to take one of the masks off, but my hand just passed right through it, and the world distorted to move me away from them. Then someone grabbed my side, and rolled me back and forth, back and forth, while I was still standing. My mind bent, and suddenly I was awake, with Kai looking down on me, somewhat annoyed.

The details blurred in my mind as my filter of common sense kicked in. I shuddered. It was a weird dream, to say the least.

Kai was looking at something on my bed. "What's that?" I asked. "It's a note," he replied gruffly, "It's for you."

He handed it to me.

'Please make your bed. Feel free to watch the second round of Kai's training with me. Breakfast is coming. Make ready!'

"Wow, looks like breakfast is some kind of monster," I joked. Kai rolled his eyes, then headed for the door. He peeked through and looked both ways and up before exiting. It seemed like Sensei had actually taught him something.

He snuck as stealthily as he could, careful to try to avoid any traps he could come across. There were none, and he seemed more frustrated by this than he had been with the traps last night.

"Come on, right when I'm ready for you!" he growled, apparently to the absent teacher. It was obvious Sensei was withholding the snares just to psych him out.

We came to the courtyard un-harassed. It was sort of refreshing, actually. The whole space was empty, except for the pedestal with the small dragon statue and its secret, and the bigger one in the middle, that hid the biggest column of the training course.

"Hmm... seems like the old man's not here yet," Kai murmured, flipping up the miniature figure and pressing the button. The course folded out the same way it had last night, but we were expecting it this time, and it wasn't as impressive after seeing it the first time.

The main pillar rose up, spinning slowly. Kai got into a ready position, but to his surprise, Sensei was sitting on the floor of the central pillar, revolving into sight as he sipped his tea. His whole tea set lay on his lap, complete with a tray to set things on.

Kai just scowled. He had lost his head start after all.

"Greetings, Kai. Prepare for your second try. Good morning to you as well, Garth, feel free to sit with me and watch. This may be... entertaining." Sensei said, as he got up from the revolving pillar floor, stowing his teapot, cup, sugar bowl, and tray behind him in the act. He turned to the porch, revealing his empty hands clasped behind him, with no sign of his tea stuffs anywhere.

I was a little less gawky this time, but no less curious about the strange occurrence. Sensei was given some time to pull his tea set out from behind him again as I walked back to the porch, regretting tailing Kai out to the small raised dragon statue.

Taking my place beside the aged master, I saw Kai get whacked off the course by a revolving dummy, _right _as Sensei downed this cup of tea.

"Again, you have failed," Sensei pronounced, slipping his teapot and cup behind him once more. I leaned back to try to catch the items vanishing, but Sensei cleverly moved them to the other side of his body from me, obscuring them from my line of view, and he laid his arm across his back, hands completely empty.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, "I was paying attention this time!" Sensei seemed to enjoy my confusion.

"Come, the time for breakfast nears. We must prepare for it." He flipped up to a standing position, as he had done yesterday, then backed through the doors. They slid shut in front of him, only to open again before we had time to question it, revealing a plain, round table, laden with biscuits and Sensei.

"Now, if I am to lift you as your teacher, you must learn to lift me as my student," Sensei Wu said, with a well-hidden grin.

"What?" Kai exploded. "That doesn't make any sense!"

The aged teacher's eyes twinkled as he said, "Complete the task, or Garth and I may have to eat alone indoors. You must _earn_ your first meal of the day."

Kai grumbled, not for the first time this morning, and I put in, "I'll help. It's only fair."

"Very well," said the sensei, as Kai and I reluctantly set about the task. The table was surprisingly light, especially for one with an old man on top of it.

As soon as we set it down in the courtyard, Sensei sprang from his seat and pushed the button for the training course, causing all of the apparatuses to fold away, spinning. He leaped back to a regular position at the table before we had time to question.

"We can't eat in a cluttered area, now can we?" the old man half asked, half stated. I didn't really care either way, but Kai mumbled something about his place being pretty messy most days.

The meal was fairly good, and when I complimented Sensei on it, he told me he had not cooked it. I asked who had, and he replied that it was a closely guarded secret. I took the hint not to ask any more, so as not to anger the secretive biscuit maker, whoever or wherever they were.

As we wrapped up breakfast, Sensei said, "Some of the greatest lessons I cannot teach you, but you must teach yourselves." He walked back to the monastery porch, and said over his shoulder, "...Feel free to use any... toys... you may come across."

The doors mysteriously shut on their own, once again, and we were once again alone. A paper airplane sailed over the wall, and Kai caught it nimbly.

"There's something written on it," he said, as he unfolded it.

'By the way, expect no more notes from me.'

"Well, that's a relief." I said. Those notes were really unnerving.

"Wait, there's a back-" Kai said, turning it over to reveal-

'Don't grow lax, or you may run into some, ah, _unexpected_ notes.'

I could almost feel Sensei's inner laughter emanating from that paper. Kai was not amused either.

"C'mon, Garth, let's have a look around. He did say something about finding 'toys.' I take that to mean equipment." He looked all over, not finding anything we didn't already know about until I noticed a crease in the wall that shouldn't be there.

Kai folded it open. Inside lay some funny-looking, mesh-masked helmets on top of some roughly samurai-like armor. A couple of blunted katanas were inside.

"Kendo armor," said Kai, pulling out a helmet.

"Kendo?" I asked, hating how confused I was.

"Martial art of swordplay," Kai said disinterestedly, throwing some armor over himself. "Except for the helmet, this is a lot like the armor I wore when the skeletons attacked."

"Right. Were you also wearing your apron then?" I asked, innocently. The apron thing had bothered me ever since he showed up, and I hadn't felt like there had been a good time to mention it. What I could remember of aprons were that girls wore them in the kitchen. Kai seemed firm in his manhood, yet he was very attached to the article of clothing, as evidenced by him wearing it right now.

He bristled at my comment. "It's a _blacksmithing_ apron!" he groused, defensively. I could tell this was NOT a good time to bring it up. "I'd like to see _you_ slave over a forge with nothing to shield you from the sparks and hot metal!"

"Ooohhhhh..." It dawned on me then. Blacksmiths pound metal. Hot metal. Plus, the apron had plenty of pockets and straps for manly tools like hammers and tongs. This realization made me feel no smarter, and I hated my cluelessness.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kai said impatiently, as he tugged on his helmet.

"What?" I asked, feeling, once again, clueless.

"Well, I need a sparring partner!"

"Right," I said, pulling on the other set of armor and a helmet. Grabbing a sword, I faced Kai.

"You know, I'm only a guest here," I said, hoping this would let me get out of feeling Kai's wrath. I had done pretty well at keeping on his good side, up until the apron comment.

"Well, you should have thought about it before running your mouth," Kai replied, springing forwards.

I probably could have held my own, if it weren't for his mood. During the hail of furious blows, I managed to sneak a poke in on his leg, but he didn't feel it because of the tough apron.

It's fair to say he kicked my butt, and I came away with bruises all over my legs and arms where the armor didn't cover.

His vengeance exacted, he calmed down and became friendly again.

The rest of the time between then and lunch was spent alternately sparring and talking. When lunch arrived, we had to drag the table out again, but this time Sensei was kind enough not to sit on it during the process.

"So Kai, what have you taught yourself?" he asked his pupil, while we ate. Kai shrugged in response. "If you do not remember, you must learn again. Garth, did you learn something?"

I paused, thinking, then said, "I learned not to ask about Kai's apron."

Sensei did not visibly respond, but I could see him laughing inside. "Very well, Garth. Kai, see to it that next time, you _pay attention_," -his grin was now visible- "to the lessons you have to offer."

"Yeah, but if you're not going to teach me anything, how can I teach myself?" Kai challenged.

"Very well, if it is my teaching you want, it is my teaching you will get. Come, it is time for your after-lunch test." Sensei got up and activated the training course, then took his place on the porch, yet again producing his teacup out of nowhere.

"Come on, I'm not even done eating yet!" Kai stated, hustling out of his chair to take his test. Before he even cleared the first obstacle, Sensei finished draining his tea.

"Fail," Sensei said simply. "You may try again after dinner." The tea set promptly disappeared.

"You know, Kai, the sooner you complete the course, the sooner you'll be able to save your sister." I pointed out, trying to be helpful.

Kai brightened, in a dark way. It was hard to explain. "Sensei, give me another try! I can beat this thing!" I must have triggered some kind of inspiration in him, because now he sounded impassioned.

"As I already stated, you will get another chance after dinner. You are obviously not prepared, so now I will train you myself. Garth, would you care to watch?" he said.

I sat down on the porch and watched the proceedings. Sensei had Kai pull on the Kendo armor, and they started to spar. Sensei, lacking armor, took the defensive, blocking, parrying, and dodging all of Kai's wide swings.

Kai soon grew furious, then finally tried coupling a leap forward with a downward swing. Sensei Wu, instead of dodging sideways or holding his ground, slid forward towards Kai, leaning back as he did so, and blocking Kai's swing with his own blade. Kai flew over him in surprise as he slid, not landing the vicious swing. Sensei leaned back up to a standing position, while Kai face-planted in the dirt.

"How did you do that?" he sputtered, pulling himself to his feet.

"Let me tell you a story," Sensei said, holding a battle stance. "There was once a mighty oak tree, next to a river."

"What?" yelled Kai, charging him. "I asked you how you did that trick! Why don't you just tell me?!"

Sensei parried his blows and continued, ignoring Kai's protests. "One fateful day, a great storm blew in. The tree fought to stay upright, but finally, it was overpowered, and broke. The trunk split, and it fell into the steam with a mighty crash."

"What does this have to do with anything?!" Kai fairly screamed, continuing to wildly swing at his teacher.

Again, Sensei persisted, not acknowledging the question. "The felled tree floated down the river, and ended up in a beaver dam. There, were some small, insignificant rushes."

"I don't care about plants!" Kai seethed, as Sensei warped his body around another zealous blow.

"The tree asked the rushes how they had survived the storm. They were so small and weak! The rushes replied, 'We simply bend with the wind. When we don't fight it and let it pass right over us, we do not fall.' "

Kai stopped. He had suddenly realized the point of the story, and why he should care about talking vegetation. He poured sweat, but Sensei looked like he was just warming up.

"Now, Kai," Sensei pressed, using the calm, "Can you bend?"

Kai's eyes widened, as Sensei pounced, going fully offensive. Kai had no time to try to land a blow, because he was too busy just keeping Sensei off of him. In spite of that, he was checked all over by precise, quick blows.

Sensei was living proof that in all people, there is more than meets the eye. At first, he appeared a feeble old man, but it was obvious the ease with which he was defeating Kai.

A final kick sent Kai to his back. "Your lesson is finished," the aged warrior said to his speechless student. "You may now spar with Garth."

I clapped as he turned and walked back into the monastery.

*Kai*

I focused on the training dummy, wrapping my mind around what exactly I was about to attempt. I started running towards it, feeling the distance close in an uncomfortable way that I had not envisioned. I leaped into the air, trying to copy what Sensei had showed me, bending one leg and stretching out the other in a way that _should_ land on the dummy. It felt pretty right in that split second, but I felt my bent leg fall a little too low, the only mistake at this point.

I fumbled to recover, flexing my body and bending my forward leg. My arms flailed, and what was supposed to be a flying kick ended up with and awkward landing that sent me to the ground, in spite of the foot I landed on.

Sensei just looked on, and began to clap his hands slowly. "Amazing. It takes a lot of talent to mess up a flying side kick that badly."

I picked my self off, angry at myself, as well as pretty much everything else. This was my twelfth try, and I had screwed up every time. The one time I actually got it right ended up with me missing the dummy with my foot and slamming into it with my body.

I had come to respect Sensei a bit more over the few days since he beat me with the sparring lesson, but the mysterious old man still frustrated me sometimes. It planted a seed of doubt in my mind; Was he wrong to bring me here to train? What if I ultimately failed to learn Spinjitzu and become the ninja he said I was supposed to be? Maybe I should have stayed a blacksmith.

"Try it again," Sensei repeated, a twelfth rendition of the statement.

"What's the use?" I asked, feeling angry about myself. "Maybe I'm not the right guy for this. Maybe I should go back to trying to make swords and armor."

Sensei smiled. It was a sarcastic one. "Yes, as I recall, you were a master at that."

I glowered for a second. He might have had a point, though, as much as it hurt to admit. "Alright, so maybe my work was a little, uh, ...creative, but at least I knew which end of the weapon goes in the fire. But here? I'm not a ninja, I just work in my blacksmith shop in the market square, just like my father. We're not warriors or adventurers!"

Sensei was looking at me, but he wasn't focused were his eyes pointed; he was looking into a time long gone. "Your father," he said softly, "did not live in that village all of his life."

"What? You told me that when you decided to hide the weapons, you came to my village. You asked my father to draw up a map of their locations."

"True," he replied, "And from that day to the day I met you, I had never returned to your village again."

"Why not?" I asked, breaking his pause.

"It was because your father asked me not to."

"Wait- so you're a sensei, a master of Spinjitzu, and you let a blacksmith tell you where to go? That doesn't make much sense."

"No, I respected the wishes of my best friend," Sensei Wu replied.

My shock evidently showed on my face, because Sensei smiled slightly.

"You look surprised. Did you think Spinjitzu Masters do not have friends? There was a time long ago when your father and I went traveling across the land of Ninjago, aiding the weak and righting wrongs. That was a long time before you were born, of course, or your sister."

"So does this mean my father knew Spinjitzu?" I asked, interested.

The aged teacher shook his head. "He did not. He could have, had he chosen that path."

An uncomfortable quiet ensued.

"I never knew about any of this. Tell me about him... please." I said, finally managing to speak.

"Your father was wise and brave, and a more trustworthy ally, no man could have. We fought and adventured together, sometimes with my brother, Garmadon, at our side, before my brother became truly evil. We brought down chaos, and filled the void with peace. You father was a great hero, Kai." Here he paused, smiling.

"In the early days, he much resembled you- tough, reckless, always ready for a fresh fight. One time we were hunting for a group of rogue Samurai bandits, when he thought he spotted them on a hill and charged into battle. He ended up paying the owner of the field for 'defeating' his scarecrows." At this he actually allowed himself a chuckle.

"Time passed, and as the rift between me and Garmadon grew, I came to rely on your father more and more. Yet, he was drawn in by another life- he met and married the woman that later became your mother. After you and Nya were born, he lay down his sword and settled in that village, to be with his family."

"But why?" I questioned, "Why would he choose to live in a little out-of-the-way place when his life was so full of adventure?"

"That was my question, at the time," Sensei responded, "The answer your father gave was, 'Protecting the world begins with protecting the ones you love. There are many men who can wield a sword or win a battle. But only I can be a husband to my wife and a father to Kai and Nya."

I shrugged. The whole thing didn't quite make sense. "And that was it? Goodbye?"

Sensei nodded. "That is the way it was, for a long time. Generally, danger follows those who seek it, and your father could not afford to risk his family for his lifestyle. When the time came to hide the Weapons of Spinjitzu, the only man I knew I could turn to was your father, to bear the secret of their locations. Thus, he made the map and hid it in the banner of the shop. It was a risk to keep it there, but the greater risk to allow for it to escape his sight. And I slept peacefully, knowing it was under his care."

"But Garmadon still found it."

Again, the old head dipped. Another silence followed.

I got up the nerve to ask one more question: "Do you think my father would be proud of me?"

Sensei paused, then said, "If you try once more, yes. If you quit... he would not understand. You father chose to be a different kind of teacher than I could ever be. He was the only man alive who could bring you and Nya up safe and strong. And now, Kai, you are the one who needs to do what needs to be done now."

That thought gave me strength. It was one of the few things Sensei had ever really said that meant something to me. I refocused on the training dummy, and pictured the move once more, feeling a new well of energy bubble up inside me. I began to run towards the dummy, this time feeling correct and ready. It was then I realized I was running in the footsteps of my father.

_I will learn all that Sensei can teach me, _I thought. _I will save Nya, father. I will carry on our legacy and make you proud._

I felt wholly focused, doing what I knew I needed to do. I was one with my body and surroundings, and all of time seemed to slow down.

My foot lanced through the dummy's head, tearing through the sticks and rags that made it up. I made a smooth landing as the dummy fell over.

I turned back to Sensei, who gave a slight smile. "Better," he said. "Today, you have overcome your first great obstacle- your own doubts. Carry that victory into the unknown tomorrows and you will bring honor not only to yourself, but also your father's name."

I felt energized. "Whew! After all that, I could use a drink. Got some extra tea?"

Sensei grinned a little bit. "Pluck this cup from my hand without disturbing the tea inside, and then you may have some."

I had to settle with water.

*Garth*

We sat around the table at lunchtime. It was the fourth day of Kai's training, and he had really picked it up. He was now able to get around half of the course before Sensei managed to guzzle his tea.

Over the last six of Kai's attempts, I had studied the course carefully, trying to judge the most realistic way around it. Each of Kai's mistakes added a tidbit to my knowledge of the course- so now I had it mostly mapped out. Secretly, I had begun to wonder if I could actually complete it, and that curiosity had evolved into a burning desire. I rolled the idea around in my mind before getting up the courage to bring it up.

"Sensei?" I asked, probingly.

"Yes, Garth?"

"I would like to see if I can beat the training course myself."

The sensei smiled. "An interesting want. Are you implying that you would like to train to become a ninja, as Kai is currently doing?"

I dipped my head. "Yes, I have all kinds of free time, and I enjoy Kendo sparring with Kai. There seems to be so much I'm missing."

"Hmmm..." the Sensei hummed in reply, stroking his beard. "Very well. You first lesson will be following lunch, after Kai is tested once more."

That left me with a nervous, tingly feeling, seemingly positive, but also with a hint of fear. My overpowering desire to both contribute something to someone and to learn new things was overshadowed by a clinging to my comfortable, yet boring life of the last few days.

Kai spoke up, seemingly speaking my mind: "You realize that would be the end of your VIP status, right? You won't be a guest anymore, you'll be a student."

My mind finally wrapped itself around the idea, and my fears fled.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Sensei, I want to become a ninja."

Sensei had notified Kai early on what he intended to make him into. I wanted in on that myself.

That was pretty much the end of lunch. Kai managed to almost reach the last column before getting smacked by a punching bag.

"Fail. Now, Kai, your next lesson will be Garth's first as well. Many of the greatest teachers can also become your best friend."

"What?!" Kai asked, exasperated. "Sensei, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. This sounds like a lame lesson already!"

"If it is a lame lesson, then it will be the first I have ever given," Sensei said. "And the fact that you do not understand is why this lesson must be taught. Today we will not train physically, but we will train our minds."

The look on Kai's face showed that the last statement didn't do much to help his confusion.

"The teachers of which I first spoke are... these." Sensei said, again skillfully suppressing a grin as he drew out two tall stacks of books out from behind him, exactly like how his teapot could be conjured from thin air.

"Books?" Kai exploded. "My sister's in danger, and we're going to waste time _reading?_"

"Patience," Sensei said, drawing out his favorite word. "If you do not learn the history of this world, you may not have the knowledge to traverse it."

While Kai steamed over, I took a stack of books from Sensei and opened one. I had a positive feeling about books; I didn't have any idea of were it came from, or why Kai seemed so revolted by them.

Both me and Kai read furiously, but we had our own brand of fury. I soaked up as much information as possible, enjoying the feeling of the cluelessness being pummeled by the mighty fist of history. Kai however, not a big fan of reading, stewed and mowed through it, hoping that he could finish early and get back to the warrior-type stuff. The very fact that Sensei was forcing him to read was making him mad, let alone his aversion to books in general.

Dinner rolled around, and Sensei quizzed us on what we had learned, and I spewed forth all kinds of useless trivia. Kai, however, had only read to get it over with, and could barely remember anything. I asked if Sensei knew he was in the history books, and he responded that this did not surprise him, as he'd done a lot of adventuring in his youth.

After Kai took another round of the training course, failing once again, we read until it was time for bed. I was close to finished, and Kai was barely halfway through.

That night, I snuck out to the training course. The noise it made when it unfolded made me flinch, but neither Kai nor Sensei woke up. As far as I could tell, that is.

I set on the course, dodging around the wooden training dummies and traps of the first column, leaping to the swinging pegs of the next section. Nimbly working my way around them and ducking under the heavy mace of the central column, I sprang into the second spinning series of traps.

Next were the small pillars that rose and fell. Perfect timing was needed, because they were spaced far enough apart that you needed some momentum from their spring, but didn't get launched too high. Their spring points were at different places, so I had to stop and wait, occasionally having to bend my body around the mace or punching bag. At one point, the punching bag swung towards me during a leap, forcing me to twist my body to avoid being hit.

A kind of confidence welled up in my mind. I was doing so well on my first try! I ducked under a swinging ball, then swung around another wooden dummy. That seed of confidence grew into a cocky air, and was manifest in my foot being caught on the dummy's leg. The column spun me around, smacking me into some pegs before the punching bag on the main pillar walloped me off of the dummy, sending me flying into the middle of the courtyard.

I got up, feeling the bruises all over.

"A commendable first try," I heard Sensei's voice ring out, making me jump. "You did much better then I have ever seen, in the way of a first go. However, this is considering there was no imposed time limit."

"Whew! You scared me. I didn't know you were there!"

"Mmmm... why didn't you do this during the day?" he asked, sounding curious rather than critical.

"Well... I didn't want to copy Kai. He's taking a test, and I'm just trying it out. It might rub him the wrong way to use it right after him."

Sensei stroked his beard. "Just do it in your free time. That is, if you are willing to compromise your reading time." He chuckled to himself, then said: "If I am going to teach you, you must get your sleep."

With that he backed through the doors, which once more slid shut on their own.

The following days passed much more quickly. I got to read a lot, but spent a lot more time training to hone my ninja skills. Sensei's primary subject was Kai, and I could use the training course while he was sparring and training with other things.

Eventually, I managed to complete the course before Kai, but not with the time constraint. That was something else altogether, because Sensei could chug that tea pretty fast.

One of my favorite lessons was learning to block and dodge arrows. The ends were blunted and wrapped in cloth, so that instead of piercing your body when they hit you, they'd leave a throbbing bruise and knock you down.

In order to avoid them, you had to slap them out of the air just behind the head, which required perfect timing. Since you couldn't bat all of them away, bending around them was also helpful. After a couple of lessons like this, we learned to whirl a staff to catch and deflect the projectiles.

The arrows were shot by either me or Kai, making them be one at a time, and not very rapidly. This didn't simulate real combat that well, but it did improve our reflexes and our aim.

Kai's progress on the training course seemed directly connected to the passing of the week. Still, three times a day, he would-

"Fail."

"Fail."

"Fail."

"Again, Fail."

Finally, Kai was hit by the last obstacle and spun away from the course as Sensei finished his last sip. "And... fail."

"Not next time, Sensei. I can feel it," Kai replied, and I could feel it too- he was pouring energy, and the air silently hummed around him as the juices of inspiration flowed through him.

Dinner rolled around. Sensei once again used his favorite word- "Patience," as the table and food was packed up. and placed back in the building. Kai was edgy to get to the course, and the desire seemed to radiate into me.

He was doing pushups as Sensei sat down and pulled out his tea stuff.

*Sensei Wu*

"You may begin," I said, and Kai was off like a shot. Over the past 8 or so tries, he had taken to carrying a wooden sword through the test, and this time was no exception. He flipped and twisted, clearing the first set of obstacles faster than Garth could have ever hoped.

I quickly poured my tea, and then threw some sugar cubes in. I looked up to see him leaping along the pegs. His body twisted as he turned to look and see me raise the cup to my mouth. He saw me begin to drain it, and would have nothing of it.

His arm swung, launching the wooden sword in his grip towards me like a large arrow. It knocked the cup out of my hands, making me jump a little. I snatched the cup out of the air, swiftly pouring more tea into it, then looked back to the course.

He was nowhere to be seen. The course spun and worked, but it lacked my student. I reached for the sugar bowl. It wasn't there.

"Is that one lump, or two?" Kai asked, holding the bowl in question out and beaming arrogantly. He had passed.

"Hah," I said, in recognition of his accomplishment.

"So, am I going to learn this Spinjitzu I've been hearing so much about?" he asked, hopefully.

"Not yet," I replied, standing up and walking into the doors. "Your final test comes tomorrow." The doors shut, thanks to my little trick.

"Huh?" I heard him ask, as I disappeared down the hall.

*Mysterious dark form*

Arching my back, I contemplated my leap. Finally mustering my faculties, I unwound and sprang away from the branch I was on. I hurdled through the night air and concentrated on the branch I intended to land on. It rose to meet me.

I twisted and angled, landing feet-first and backwards. I placed one hand on the limb, swaying with the branch and blending with the foliage. The dark sky overhead perfectly obscured my leap.

My two companions landed stealthily beside me. We surveyed the area carefully, trying to decide where to go next.

A humming rose from my pocket. I fished the phone out of my robe and flipped it open. After listening, I closed it and announced,

"It's the boss. Time to go back."

**Wow. I promised a short chapter, didn't I? Well, that turned out a LOT longer than I had planned. In fact, this is the longest chapter I have ever written so far.**

**One note, that part near the middle where Kai has the talk with Sensei Wu wasn't my work. It's a mini-story written by Greg Farshtey, and I tried to re-word it so as to not plagiarize. I wanted to use it because it's a great work, and because it fits in my story well.**

**Legally, I do NOT own the story, but I justify myself like this:**

**1. The book was only available through the school market, so almost nobody is going to be able to get the original.**

**2. The book isn't being sold anymore, so LEGO isn't losing any money.**

**3. I turn all credit over to the original author.**

**4. I will remove it if it violates something legally.**

**5. If it's okay to re-tell a TV show, this book should be okay as well.**

**So that's about it. Please review, and thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4: Meet the Team

**Greetings once more, my fine readers! So glad you are reading this. I am ashamed at how long it took to publish this chapter. I give you permission to mentally beat me up over it. Just keep it to yourself, okay?**

**So now this story will actually start going somewhere. Without further ado, here it is:**

*Samukai*

We made it back to the temporary portal and drove on in. I prefer to use my personal portal, but we had loot to take, and I couldn't trust my armies to control themselves away from my presence.

Once back in the Underworld, we hopped over some floating chunks of rock and down some tunnels. Parts of my entourage, mostly Skull Motorbikes, parted as my truck and more elite officers continued with me.

We drove to a dead end in the wall, and I pulled out a dagger and threw it into the barrier. The ground around us rumbled as the wall folded down, forming a large platform over an empty space. Sheer walls became visible on the other side as we drove into the Throne Room.

Because of the way the wall folded down, we were suspended on a ledge over space. This feature was added for better access to the room by vehicles. Most convenient when adding bone furniture.

I extended my hand and the thrown knife flew to it, and I sheathed it. I dismounted, followed by what skeletons had come with me. They unloaded a bone cage that contained a struggling, indignant prisoner. Her mouth was gagged and duct taped, and her head had a sack over it to obscure her vision.

A wave of my other hand sent my minions scurrying onto their bikes and fleeing the room. Kruncha manned the truck and started it up as Nuckal hauled the cage onto the main platform of the room. He barely managed to grab on the back of the truck as Kruncha drove away. I stuck my knife back in the floor of the vehicle-access platform, then withdrew it, making it close back over the hole in the wall.

I now stood on the central floating mass of ground in the Underworld- the Throne Room was the conduit of all power here. Only the king has the privilege of wielding that power.

Most of that entailed a personal portal here from the surface of Ninjago, but many of the powers only functioned here.

"Lord Garmadon, we have the girl," I intoned, looking around to find his shadowy form.

His voice spoke out of nowhere. Or everywhere. "Good. What about the map?"

"Yes, we got that, too. I have it with me so none of my walking piles of bones will misplace it."

"Then the mission was a success. My designs are advancing perfectly. But what made you use so much of my precious time?" his voice demanded, echoing out of every nook and cranny, every smooth spot on the wall.

I hated it when he did that. He always tried to make me feel inferior. If I knew I could beat him one-on-one, our alliance would have ended long ago.

"You know how the skeletons are, they're easily sidetracked. Unless I'm right there to impose on them, they loose sight of their objective." I replied heatedly, crossing my four arms.

"Hmm... this disappoints me, Samukai. You cannot allow them to dawdle so. I can feel that my hated brother is on the move again. Big things are coming... Big things..."

"What is our next goal?"

"We track down the Four Weapons, and we use them, of course. Four arms, four weapons, startling coincidence, no?"

I again looked around the empty Throne Room. Still Garmadon didn't make himself known, so I went and sat down on the throne.

"That can't be the only reason you want them, seeing as I would defeat you easily afterwards," I said suspiciously. "Surely you have another... thing... in mind."

"Yes, Samukai. I have plans for those weapons. Both of us will use their power..."

"Right... so what about the prisoner? Doesn't it jeopardize your plan for her to be listening in?" I asked, indicating the squirming, caged flesh-wearer.

"No, it doesn't matter. Not for Plan A, at least. It actually helps Plan B, believe it or not, and Plan C won't be affected as well. The only place it could be a real problem is Plan T, but Plan U involves not getting that far."

I fidgeted with my four hands. "You seem to know what you're doing," I murmured, slipping in some sarcasm.

His evil laugh rang out through the room, echoing down into the bottomless pit that the platform hovered over. Well, it was bottomless as far as we could tell. "Quite, quite... We've been down here a long time, Samukai, a long time..."

"Could you please stop trailing off like that?" I snapped. "It grates at my bones."

"Heh heh hehh... Does it bother you? Oh, I guess I'll stop... eventually..." Again he let loose a murderous chuckle.

"Have it your way. We're done here. We'll dispatch the next mission as soon as you ord- ...we, agree on it," I said as I climbed off the throne and began to cross the bone bridge that lead to the main exit tunnel.

"Fair enough," Garmadon replied, sending more sinister chuckles around the Throne Room.

*Kai*

I had bugged Sensei about the final test all day. I was pumped and ready the whole time, but he always infuriatingly stroked his beard and said, "Patience." Without fail. I gave up a little before dinner.

My day was full of sparring with Garth and balance and conditioning exercises. Next, after lunch, we practiced meditation. Sensei told us to sit and forget ourselves, concentrating solely on our surroundings.

"A ninja who ignores his environment is a dead ninja. A ninja who pays attention and uses what tools he has, is a long-lived ninja, as you can plainly see."

"Wait," interjected Garth, "Sight isn't the only sense. There's also smell, taste, hearing and feel. Plus peripheral sense, though that technically counts as feel." Garth had been reading up on science recently. His cutting in now and then bugged me, to say the least.

"Correct, Garth. A true ninja reaches out with all of his senses at once to observe everything around him." replied Sensei.

"Even taste?" I asked, incredulously.

"Even taste," repeated Sensei Wu. "Your tongue may detect things in the wind that your nose does not."

"Since we're not masters, perhaps we should focus on the primary senses," said Garth, "You know, sight, hearing, and feel."

"Again correct. Know yourself and your skill level; greater things will come to those who make ready."

"Well, my ears are getting sore from all this talk. Aren't we supposed to be meditating?" I asked, growing bored of the conversation.

"Yes, Kai. Reach out and feel all around you with your tools of perception."

We sat in silence, trying to be aware of all at once; the colors of the tile on the monastery floor, the clouds in the sky, the feeling of the tiles and or clothes, the sound of quiet insects, chirping birds, and the movement of water particles in the sky.

"Silence is a great key to stealth," whispered Sensei, making us jump. "Sneaking involves avoiding detection- evasion of the enemy's five senses."

Though his voice was very low and very quiet, it still boomed and rang in our ears.

"Whoah," I said, and suddenly the volume and color and sensation of the rest of the world turned down, and I was back in the moment.

"Strange," Garth muttered next to me, and I saw him relax sightly.

"What just happened?" I asked our teacher.

"Your meditation was successful. You achieved keen awareness of your surroundings. Apply that in combat, and you will be a truly capable opponent."

"Neat," Garth replied.

"Not a bad lesson. What now?" I asked.

"Now, we do the Arrow Exercise." answered Sensei Wu.

The meditation lesson left me thinking about it the rest of the day, even crowding out any thoughts of the final test. As a result, the rest of the day passed in a blur.

I stood at the sink, brushing my teeth, trying to extend my awareness. I could feel the vibrating toothbrush distinctly in my mouth, and the floorboards under my bare feet.

Pushing my hearing farther out, I probed the darkness in and around the monastery. I heard a faint swooshing sound, but that was probably a bird, or Garth rolling over in bed. There was also a slight creak of the floor that could have also been Garth shifting around.

Studying my reflection in the mirror, I then realized I was focusing too much on one thing. Broadening my view, I saw the wall next to the mirror and the sink under it. Continuing, I became aware of what was behind me as well, all thanks to the mirror.

It was at that moment I noticed a clump of darkness that shouldn't be there. Another creak sounded close to my right.

I ripped my attention away from the mirror, looking around. It was then I saw one, two, forms approaching me, both clothed in black, one from behind and the other off to the side. A third dropped from the rafters to my left. They all bore different weapons. I was surrounded!

Thinking fast, I twisted my face into a battle snarl and threw the only thing on hand- my toothbrush. It dented through the ninja hood of the guy who was to the left of me, and he spat it out. It flew at the ninja opposite him, who blocked the projectile with his nunchucks. It flew up in the air and went down the back of the robe of the guy behind me.

His eyes widened as the toothbrush vibrated in his clothes. He had to shake the object loose without his hands, because they were occupied by a large battle-scythe.

He swung it at me, and I used it do jump up and off of it into the rafters. I ran along them, carful not to misstep. I could here their faint swooshing noises as they jumped up behind me. One leaped up to my front, and I dodged aside to avoid a flying side kick.

After the failed kick, he fell through between two rafters. I laughed to myself as he hit the floor, and then got sent flying through the roof by his companions.

I landed next to the podium with the miniature dragon on it, flipping it up to reveal the button. My ninja opponents regrouped, coming after me through the courtyard.

I reached up and pressed the button, sending the training course into action. The ninja easily evaded the obstacles, but I was able to send them flying back into punching bags and dummies, making them drop their weapons.

All three moved in at once, punching and kicking, and we knocked each other away and traded blows. I sent my foes flying many times before we got into a big dog pile.

That was when I was blinded by lights being turned on and the doors to the building flying open.

"Stop!" yelled the Sensei, and for a split second I thought he was coming to my aid.

But then the black-robed people rolled off me and stood straight, bowing and replying all at once, "Yes, Sensei."

I had a moment of confusion. "Wait a minute, Sensei, they're your students, too?"

He nodded, a look of contentment on his aged countenance.

"This was my final test, wasn't i-"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa," interrupted one of them, speaking quickly. "You never said anything about a fourth! There's always three; Three Musketeers, Three Blind Mice, three-"

"Ugh, what he's trying to say is, we three have trained together. We're solid." interjected the ninja at the end of the line. His voice was a little deeper than the first one who spoke up.

I folded my arms and smirked. "Didn't seem so _solid_ to me." That earned an eyebrow-glare from the deeper-voiced ninja.

"Master," spoke the third, "What is the meaning of this?"

Sensei took a few steps forward and began:

"Each of you has been _chosen_. Each of you are in tune with elemental properties. But first! Ninja-go!" He spun into his golden tornado, passing along our line and whirling us around. When he returned to where he had been standing, we spun to a stop ourselves.

I realized my pajamas were gone- replaced by a red ninja robe. The hood was up over my head.

Looking around, I saw that the others weren't in black anymore, one was white and another was blue. Well, then again, the last in line, the one who had glared at me, was still wearing black, but this robe looked more official. He also had his scythe back. The blue one had his nunchucks as well, and I held a brand-new steel katana. Only the white one didn't have weapons on hand. "How did he do that?" someone asked as we examined our new garb.

"Cool, look what color I am!" exclaimed the blue one rapidly.

"Wait a minute, I'm still in black," said the scythe-holder.

Sensei waved a hand to silence us. He pointed his staff at me.

"Kai, Ninja of Fire," he proclaimed. "It burns bright."

Touching his staff to the shoulder of the blue one, he announced, "Jay is blue; master of lightning." Jay looked slightly thunderstruck already.

Recovering, he broke the silence by saying, "Heh. That's not _all_ I'm the master of. I do a little inventing, I dabble in model building, a touch of cooking, and poetry-"

"Mmf. More like _mouth_ of lightning," said the one in black, silencing Jay.

Sensei spoke back up. "Black ninja is Cole. Solid as rock. Master of Earth."

Cole spun around and stopped himself with his scythe.

I was about to make a quip when he held up his scythe and said, "Nice to meetcha, kid. I got your back." He flipped up his hood, revealing bushy black hair. "And for the record, there's _nothing_ in this world that I'm afraid of."

The so far unnamed white ninja added, "Except dragons."

Cole backpedaled. "Well, didn't I say _in_ this world? Dragons aren't exactly _from_ this world..."

Once again, Sensei interrupted to continue his introductions. "White ninja is Zane. Master of Ice, and seer with a sixth sense." Zane had bowed while Sensei indicated him, and spun around as he withdrew, spinning his shurikens into view, seemingly out of nowhere. As he alighted back on the ground from his rotating leap, he flashed them in the air and made them disappear with an optical illusion.

"I sense this one takes things a little too seriously," I noted, directing the comment to Cole.

"You too have the gift?" he asked, stepping around Jay and taking off his hood as well. His hair was sandy blond, sticking straight up but neatly, smoothly flat on top.

Jay chuckled a bit. "No, Zane, he's just making a joke. Remember what we talked about? Your sense of humor? Huh? Huh?" he said, taking off his hood. His hair was neatly combed and light brown.

"Yes. A joke. Hah hah," Zane said with no emotion in his smooth voice. The laugh was obviously manufactured. Jay facepalmed.

"Pay attention!" Sensei snapped. "You four are the chosen ones who will protect the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu from Lord Garmadon." He leaned forward, making claw motions with his hands while mentioning that last name.

That aggravated a long-ignored wound. "But what about my sister?!" I roared, pointing my sword at my teacher. Jay started.

"We're saving a girl? Is she hot?" he asked, poking my arm.

"Jay!" Cole warned.

Jay realized he had made a bad move. "I- I Just wanna know what we're getting into! ...Does she like blue?"

"Back. Off." I threatened.

The conversation cancelled, our teacher continued speaking once again.

"When we find the weapons, we will find your sister. It is time! We must go to the first weapon."

"Whoah, hold on! none of us know Spinjitzu yet," Cole started.

"Spinjitzu is inside of each of you. It will only be unlocked when the key is ready to be found." We mulled this over for a second.

"...Come!" he suddenly announced, "My feet are tired. We leave in the morning."

He turned to re-enter the monastery.

"Wait!" called a familiar voice. Sensei turned back as Garth fell down from the eaves of the building and landed neatly. He had somehow escaped our detection. "What about me?"

"Eavesdropping, Garth?" Sensei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uhh... yeah. Why am I here? You seemed to have a purpose for each of those guys, but you never mentioned me."

"Hmm..." Sensei thought for a minute. "Honestly, Garth, I did not anticipate your arrival."

"Which means...?" he prompted.

"Perhaps we should discuss this is private. Yes, you weren't an original part of my plans, but you can pursue your ninja training farther with us if you like."

"Don't I at least get my own uniform? With a cool emblem and everything?" he coaxed, igniting a second wave of examination. My symbol was a flaming cat. Maybe a panther. "Cool! A squid!" Jay announced, showing off his, featuring the lightning-bolt -tentacled, glaring whateveropod on his robe. Zane had an icy, jagged-looking feline for his, and Cole's was some sort of hexagonal dirt monster. The golden pins were tied onto the uniforms with ropes, adding places to hold weapons.

"I... don't know what your element is, if you have one," said the aged warrior. "However, I do have a robe prepared for you." He produced a bundle of brown cloth from behind him, just like the teapot trick.

"...Thanks," Garth said, accepting it and looking it over. It had ropes, but no emblem.

"It's leather. It will protect you better than the other uniforms," Sensei mentioned.

"Yeah, but our uniforms smell better!" Jay joked. Garth sniffed his and remarked, "You know, you might be on to something."

"Now that that is taken care of, I advise you all to go to bed. We still leave late tomorrow morning, after we patch the hole in the roof."

It was a hassle, but we did manage to get to bed.

**Well, that was fun to write! I hope the other chapters will be as fun as this one.**

**So now it raises the question: What **_**is **_**Garth's element? Does he even have one? Does he have more than one? Visit my profile to vote on what you think!**

**Those of you who have seen the show are probably asking, "But what about Dar-" _Shhhhhhhhhhhh_. I'll cover that. Eventually. Just don't spoil it for the newcomers, please._  
_**

**Reviews are also strongly encouraged and very appreciated! They help me get chapters out faster, too, though the creative power of inspiration. Hint hint.**

**So that's all for now! Hope you liked it!**


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